Kellen Stepler stories, Page 29
East Deer brush fire, due to terrain, takes more than 2 hours to extinguish
Fire crews in the lower Allegheny Valley put out a brush fire Saturday afternoon in an East Deer field rife with fields, woods, hills and power lines. Crews were dispatched just before 1 p.m. to the area of Cambria Hill Drive for the brush fire, said Jack Bailie, chief of...
3rd Tarentum pit bull mauling victim says ‘it was instinct’ to jump in to try to stop attack on Halloween
It was nothing but “instinct” for a 33-year-old Tarentum man who jumped in to try to stop a pit bull attack in the borough on Halloween. Shawn Flynn Jr. was visiting his friend at her East Seventh Avenue home on Halloween when he looked out the window and saw three...
Blight study meeting on tap for Lower Burrell
Results of a blight study in Lower Burrell might be eye-opening to some, city Manager Greg Primm said. The public and elected officials will have a chance to review those findings at a meeting Wednesday afternoon in Fisher Hall at Burrell Lake Park. Primm said the city passed on participating...
Date set on Springdale trestle bridge demolition
Overnight work to dismantle the trestle bridge over Pittsburgh Street in Springdale will begin Wednesday and last about five days, officials told residents during a town hall meeting Thursday. Chief Derek Dayoub said the work will close Pittsburgh Street between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. each night. During that time, crews...
Bob Bordonaro Sr., longtime owner of Hillcrest Volkswagen and Gunny’s Lounge, remembered as ‘personable guy’
At first, Bob Bordonaro Sr. wasn’t too sure about getting into the car business. It was 1962 when he tagged along with a friend buying a car at Hillcrest Motors in Lower Burrell when the owner at the time encouraged him to work there. “Meanwhile, he was only 19, just...
National organization spotlights Burrell for career-readiness programming
Burrell School District is a nationwide model for how educators can tailor their curriculum to get students ready for the real world. The district recently was announced as a “Lighthouse” system for future-ready learners from the American Association of School Administrators. Only six school districts nationwide got the recognition this...
Too young to vote, Springdale students perform civic duty in a different way
While too young to cast their own ballots in the general election, 11 Springdale High School students got a taste of civic duty as student poll workers Tuesday. “It’s definitely a unique experience,” said Zachary Reynolds, 17. “I thought it was fun.” Teacher Connor Green works with the Allegheny County’s...
Student-run small business provides opportunity for Chartiers Valley life skills students
This season, you can send your loved one a greeting card that has a touch of charm from life skills students at Chartiers Valley High School. Life skills teacher Buffie Faes, paraprofessional Rita Kierski and her high school life skills students have rebooted their greeting card store, just in time...
Meeting slated for upcoming trestle bridge demolition in Springdale
Springdale residents on Thursday will get a chance to learn more about an upcoming bridge demolition at the former power plant. The 6 p.m. meeting, held at the borough building, is focused on the demolition of a trestle bridge over Pittsburgh Street, overnight road closures and detours. “The meeting is...
Property tax in Lower Burrell expected to hold for 4th straight year
Property owners in Lower Burrell likely won’t be paying more in city taxes next year. Council approved a proposed budget last week that would set the city’s 2025 millage rate at 24.75 mills, the same rate as this year. It would be the fourth consecutive year without a tax increase,...
Springdale girls soccer — it’s a family affair
Kaylee Aikens felt a sense of déjà vu Thursday night. Her younger sister, Springdale freshman soccer player Tessa Derringer, and her team won the WPIAL championship at Pittsburgh’s Highmark Stadium — a position Aikens was in 15 years ago. “I got really emotional,” said Aikens of Center Township, Beaver County....
Burrell teen gets scholarship for a sport she’s never played
Lilly Householder figured the email she got from the Eastern Michigan University rowing team was a mistake. The Burrell High School girls soccer captain had created an online recruiting account to play soccer at the collegiate level, fulfilling a lifelong dream. She grew up playing soccer with her older sister,...
County moves polling place out of Chartiers Valley Intermediate School after district’s plea
Chartiers Valley Intermediate School won’t be used as a polling place, after all. The school board had requested that the Allegheny County Elections Division relocate the polling place out of the Intermediate School in a letter dated Sept. 12. About 1,050 voters in two precincts in Scott Township used the...
New environmental field study class at Burrell gets students in the elements
In high school, Chad Clair was told that “he could do so much” by pursuing a career in biology. Now, the second-year Burrell High School teacher is showing — not just telling — his students what those paths could look like. “All the knowledge I gained over the years of...
Sale approved for Lower Burrell, Hempfield nursing homes
Eight Guardian Elder Care skilled-nursing facilities — including Belair in Lower Burrell and Oak Hill in Hempfield — will be sold to GBK Eight LLC in a transaction recently approved by a federal Bankruptcy Court. It also approved the transfer of operations for 11 other leased skilled-nursing facilities to New...
Upcoming Burrell fireside chats give community a chance to share opinions
The Burrell School District once again is inviting students and families to pull up a lawn chair and chat during an event in November. The district is bringing back its “fireside chats” from 5 to 7 p.m. Nov. 7 in the high school’s student parking lot, 1021 Puckety Church Road....
In a return to the Lower Valley, Joe Naviglia takes reins of Acmetonia police officer job
It’s a homecoming of sorts for Acmetonia Elementary School’s new police officer. Allegheny Valley School District hired Joe Naviglia, 62, of Lower Burrell in September as Acmetonia’s school police officer. He started last week and will be paid $50,000 annually. “He has a lot of experience from other school districts...
Lower Burrell to install sewer liners in Kinloch aimed at reducing backups and overflows
New sanitary sewer liners will be installed in the Kinloch section of Lower Burrell by the end of next year. The city will be able to install liners in just about every sewer in Kinloch with the $300,000 in state funding awarded Tuesday and $200,000 in federal American Rescue Plan...
Chartiers Valley appoints Woodland Hills’ Dan Castagna as superintendent
Chartiers Valley School District has appointed a new superintendent with a base salary of $250,000. The school board Thursday evening voted 6-3 to appoint Dan Castagna, who is currently superintendent of the Woodland Hills School District, as its leader for the next five years. His contract will run from Jan....
Springdale to replace old, deteriorating water lines on 3 borough streets
Springdale officials hope to begin work next year to replace water lines along three streets in the borough. The borough this week was awarded just under $1 million for a replacement project on Orchard, Logan and Moyhend streets, Councilman Dan Copeland said. Springdale also plans on replacing another street’s water...
Police raid 2 vape shops, convenience store in Lower Burrell
It was Round 2 of raids against vape shops in Westmoreland County on Friday morning — this time, in Lower Burrell. Police seized items from three city businesses: Burrell Tobacco and Vape at 3087 Leechburg Road; Discount Vape in the Hillcrest Shopping Center; and a convenience store at 2700 Leechburg...
Burrell School District, parents spar over Kenmont Avenue bus stop and route safety
Lower Burrell resident Nancy Donaldson handles child care out of her Kenmont Avenue home. In the more than 25 years she has lived there, a school bus has picked up children at the end of her driveway. The pickups of two 7-year-old boys she cares for in the mornings continued...
Westmoreland County’s housing authority pays Arnold $20K for officers to work overtime at its properties
With a goal of having a heavier police presence at two Arnold housing complexes, the Westmoreland County Housing Authority has pitched in to help pay police overtime costs. Arnold Mayor Shannon Santucci said the housing authority allocates $20,000 annually to pay city officers to pick up overtime shifts at Arnold...
Star athletes Loretta Claiborne, Dan McCoy to highlight Unified Sports event at Lauri Ann West Community Center
An afternoon of perseverance and inclusivity is slated Saturday at the Lauri Ann West Community Center in O’Hara. The center, as part of the Sue Golier Memorial Speaker Series, will feature remarks from athlete and Special Olympics Hall of Famer Loretta Claiborne and Dan McCoy, a paralympic gold medalist and...
No serious injuries in Allegheny Township crash involving school bus, 2 pickups, police say
Several Kiski Area school officials planned to ride with students on one of the district’s bus routes Friday, a day after a bus on that route was involved in a three-vehicle crash at a busy intersection in Allegheny Township. No one was seriously injured in the crash, which happened around...
